The present invention relates to cradle arrangements and more particularly to cradle arrangements utilized to transport large items such as gas turbine engines.
It will be appreciated that for convenient transportation of large items such as gas turbine engines, it is necessary to provide an appropriate cradle arrangement. Such cradle arrangements will allow lifting as well as lowering, manipulating, handling and movement of such bulky articles.
Traditional cradle arrangements for transportation of bulky items such as gas turbine engines have comprised a simple transportation stand. Such stands are also called a transport system or trolley or a dolly. The stand itself includes a base and a cradle formed by upstanding arms to engage appropriate parts of the bulky item, such as a gas turbine engine. Typically, such transportation cradle arrangements have been relatively specific to a particular bulky item. Thus, with regard to a gas turbine engine the cradle as indicated will be formed by upstanding arms, which will present rollers; trunnions; bearings; fasteners or pinned joints; or other means for connecting and securing the bulky gas turbine engine at parts on the gas turbine engine with sufficient strength to allow robust association. In such circumstances, it will be appreciated that the base for the cradle arrangement will typically allow lifting or lowering, and manipulation of the gas turbine engine. But once fixed upon the cradle arrangement the whole must be manipulated for transportation and access.
As bulky items increase in size it will be understood that problems with transportation increase along with difficulties attaching an engine to a stand and clearance between the engine and the stand, while remaining within acceptable transportation envelopes for different forms of transportation such as air, rail or road.
In view of the above previous transportation cradles tend to be labor intensive, require an overhead crane and separate tools and have limited height to width variation. Furthermore, such cradles cannot be readily utilized for final local assembly such as with regard to fitting an intake or a hot nozzle to a gas turbine engine while in the transportation cradle arrangement.